Issue Position: Medicare

Issue Position

"There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties….This is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution."

-- John Adams

We must fight for Medicare. I oppose dismantling Medicare and replacing it with a program that offers the elderly less. We do not need to end Medicare in order to save it. Forcing seniors into the private market with a voucher to purchase more expensive private coverage is not a solution. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded that seniors would spend more for health care because private plans would cost more than traditional Medicare.

Congress speaks of compassion for seniors even as it leads the charge to end Medicare. There is no compassion in forcing seniors into the private insurance market armed with a voucher. True compassion is keeping Medicare intact for our seniors.

We can make Medicare more solvent by upgrading the Medicare card to cut fraud and abuse. We can save $300 billion over ten years. We can allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices by using its bulk purchasing power. This would save $156 billion over ten years. The Veteran's Administration's drug prices are half of Part D prices. And lastly, we should support bipartisan legislation to allow low drug importation from Canada. This would save consumers $80 billion over ten years.

The voters in the 42nd district will have a very clear choice in November. They can support the status quo that is leading the charge to end Medicare or they can vote for an Independent voice who will preserve Medicare for generations to come.

We can make Medicare a more solvent program. I support three ideas that will save over $530 billion during ten years:

Upgrade the Medicare card and eliminate phantom billing and medical equipment fraud. This saves $30 billion per year, $300 billion over ten years. The new Medicare card removes the Social Security Number, uses computer technology to protect seniors.

Allow Medicare to use its bulk purchasing power to negotiate with drug makers for lower drug costs. This will save $156 billion over ten years. Congress is bought by the 700 lobbyists, $120 million per year in lobbying, and has blocked the legislation. The Veterans Administration's drug prices are half of the Part D prices.

Allow low drug importation from Canada. John McCain proposed this legislation in 2009. This would save consumers $80 billion over ten years.

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